David Torres 

American Literature-Period 1 
June 3, 2019 
THE GENOCIDE OF  
WRITING IN MODERN TIMES? 
It’s crazy just how much the world has changed in such a small amount of 
time. Like literally 12 years ago, the late great Steve Jobs introduced the 
world to the first ever iPhone. Or even crazier, just 5 years after Snapchat 
was invented. Everything has become modernised and changed for the better, 
except for the old and boring writing, at least that's what ​YOU​ think... 
 
Remember when you thought you were cool for writing the most book 
reports? Or you thought your older brother or sister was super smart for 
writing so much in their notebooks? No? I guess that’s just me but you're 
missing the point. Writing used to be very heavily appreciated and desired but 
now people can barely write a single paragraph without them getting bored 
and leaving it off to the side for another year or so. It is like writing has 
become ​worthless. 
 
Google defines ​worthless ​as “having no real​ value​ or ​use​”, so maybe 
worthless ​isn’t the right word for writing. I say this because although no 
one really wants to write essays or the dreadful paragraph, people still find 
meaning and ​value​ in writing. Don’t believe me? Well if you have a 
smartphone then I can bet you a million gorillas that you write and that 
piece of writing is very ​valuable.  
 
If by now you don’t know what i’m talking about then maybe you should whip 
out your phone and phone a relative for help. It’s fine, I can wait a few 
seconds… it’s cool...take your time...I have all day... ​I AM TALKING 
ABOUT TEXTING. ​OOPS, sorry for raising my font size to an 18 but I 
just had to make it loud and clear that we literally write everyday and that 
piece of writing is very very ​useful. 
 
To further emphasize this to ya’ll, just think about all the times you 
messaged a friend for anything. Like remember that time when you messaged 
your grandma if she had any sugar for your kool-aid or any ham for your 
burger? Well i guarantee you that message was very ​valuable ​cause you 
would have died of dehydration or starvation if you would have never texted 
her and have her bring you a full course 5 star meal. 
REMEMBER, WRITING DOES NOT MEAN PULLING 
OUT A NOTEBOOK OR PIECE OF PAPER AND USING 
A NUMBER 2 PENCIL TO DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN 
WHY LENNIE WANTED TO ALWAYS TEND THE 
WABBITS. ​ANd this time I will not apologize for raising my font size 
on you. 
 
Let me ask you this and get a bit serious for a second. Have you ever felt 
down or even depressed? If you have then I bet you have been scared or even 
just embarrassed to talk to someone about it. This is where writing aka 
texting comes in very handy and​ useful​ cause you do not have to sit down and 
talk to another human being about your thoughts. Just whip out your phone 
and ​use ​that very ignored app known as the “Notebook”, no not the movie, and 
type away your feelings and get lost in your thoughts. Not only is this ​useful​, 
but it is also helpful as this can ease and calm your anxiety down in a flash. 
 
What I am trying to get through your noggin’ is that you can find ​value​ and 
worth​ in just about anything and everything in the world. Ok, while yes a lot 
of things have changed for the worse or even the better, the fact of the 
matter is that when it comes to writing, although it has changed with the 

YOU ARE THE ONE 

many shapes and forms it comes in.​

THAT DETERMINES WHAT IS FULL OF 

WORTH ​AND WHAT IS​ WORTHLESS 
BECAUSE ​WORTH​ IS IN THE EYE OF 
THE BEHOLDER SO WHO AM I TO SAY 
THAT WHATEVER YOU WRITE DOESN'T 
MEAN ANYTHING. MODERN TIMES HAS 
CHANGED MANY MANY THINGS, BUT IT 
HAS NOT CHANGED WHAT IS AND 
WHAT ISN’T ​VALUABLE​ TO YOU!